Phoenix Rising
by Sophia Conrad
Summary: Suki has had strange dreams since she was a child, where something is chasing her, something dark and dangerous, But suddenly they start occurring more often, almost every night. What could they mean? Where will this lead them?... RayxSuki. Hiatus
1. 01: The Dreaming

**Phoenix Rising**

**By KayaMorgan**

**Chapter 1: The Dreaming**

_She ran down the dark corridor. Always the same one, the one that ended with the yellow elevator, except this time she was running away from it. _

_Something was chasing her. Or was it someone? She didn't know, except it was getting closer, and she was almost at her limit. _

_As a child her kaa-san __had always told her the stories about the Oni__, __the demons that lived in the dark, and at the edge of nightmares. They were the source of her fear, and the creators._

_It was getting closer now, she could hear it's harsh breathing behind her, as she ran, trying to push herself even faster. _

_It was behind her, she could here its grating laughter next to her ear, the loud noise resounding in her head, something she would never, could never forget. _

_She hit a dead end, and turned to face the monster, the dark… thing that had haunted her since she was a child._

_She met its bottomless black eyes with her own, it was like falling into a tar pit, a sensation of drowning surrounded her, she screamed. _

_Then, she woke up._

Suki sat upright suddenly and with a thud, fell out of her bed. Her covers were strewn across the floor, and she tried to control her rapid breathing. She pressed a hand to her chest, and tried to calm herself; it was just a dream, she told herself, just a dream.

"Suki, are you okay?" She jumped at the voice of her roommate.

"I'm fine CJ, just a bad dream," She smiled at the older girl. "A very bad dream." She whispered to herself.

The dreams were coming more frequently now, almost every night. She was scared, she realized, what could they mean? Suki shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts from it, standing up on shaky legs; she began to make her bed.

She had almost completely forgotten about the dream by the time, she slid into her seat next to Gabe at breakfast. She sat there and listened to her friends playful banter as always, smiling and laughing at the right times, but when nobody was looking, she retreated back into her thoughts.

The tones of the bell signaling first period rang, shaking her from her thoughts, and she mechanically discarded her tray, and collected her bag before following the others to class.

Nobody noticed how she wasn't acting herself, and for once, Suki was thankful.

She filed into the room and took her seat as Coach History began his lecture on Nationalism, and its effects. Quickly growing bored of the constant flow of information, she put her head down on her arms, and glanced around the room, studying the other students.

CJ was playing the role of the perfect student, and paying attention to the teacher, Ian too, but you could tell it was fake by the way he rolled his eyes every five minutes, Gabe had obviously gotten bored by now, as he was counting the number of dead flies in the ceiling lamps, Fenton actually seemed interested… but then Fenton was Fenton, Emily Wright was taking notes, Cal had out a piece of scrap paper and was drawing up buffer plays, while looking at CJ every now and again…

Suki let her gaze wander around the room again, and her eyes locked with Ray's.

He was watching her again; she smiled at him and looked away quickly, too quickly to see that he had smiled back. She could feel his gaze on her, burning hot, as if he could see into her soul.

Coach History called on Ray to answer a question, and Suki sighed, feeling the relief of having his attention distracted, she sighed and closed her eyes.

Thanks to her nightmares she hadn't been getting enough proper sleep lately. Just a short nap, she told herself.

_She was back in the tunnels again, it was dark all around, and she could hear water dripping nearby, it echoed through the tunnels. For a second she thought she heard her name being called. She pulled her PDA out of her pocket and turned on the light app__, using it to see her way as she walked through the passageway, her footsteps ringing as they struck against the cold hard stone floor. _

_Her ears were straining for any noise, but all she could hear was her own breathing. _

_Then she heard it growl, the rough and guttural moan that haunted her dream space, she turned to face it, and shivered. _

_There it stood; a writhing mass of black that shone and rippled like disturbed tar, almost as if it was not meant to have shape. Its dark eyes piercing through her, and pinning her to the wall._

_She was afraid, too terrified to move, but then she heard a voice. _

"_Run Suki! Run!" It was familiar, but… she couldn't remember who it was. She stayed put, still too scared to move. _

"_Run! Dammit Suki, MOVE!" The voiced shot through her, and freed her mind from the paralysis, she turned and ran. The monster followed her, letting out an earsplitting roar as it gave chase._

_She ran faster and faster, with the monster right behind her, jumping over the twisted roots that covered the floor as the path started to lead upwards. Something snagged on her ponytail, and she yelped as it tore the band out of place, and her hair fell down around her face, flapping wildly as she sped up._

_The tunnels twisted and turned, but she kept running, until she saw a light ahead, a way out!_

_She reached the end of the tunnel only to find a barred door blocking her path; she shoved it open and ran out into the light…_

"Miss Sato… Miss Sato?" repeated Coach History, CJ nudged the sleeping girl next to her,

"Suki! Wake up!" She hissed, and gently shook her; nothing happened.

"Suki! Coach is talking to you!" Now their classmates were beginning to stare, the girl in question let out a whimper, and moved slightly.

"Is everything alright there Miss Ward?" Coach History asked. CJ floundered for a minute, but then replied.

"Oh! Um, fine sir. Suki just hasn't been sleeping well lately; she has a nightmare almost every night. I'm surprised she managed to stay awake this long anyway." She shook the younger girl again,

"Suki! Wake up!" Suki whimpered again, and CJ began to worry.

"Coach, I can't wake her up! What do we do?" She turned back to face him.

Coach History frowned and the motioned to Connor.

"Connor, will you see what's keeping her asleep?" Coach History said; Connor nodded.

"I'll do my best sir." Connor placed his hand on Suki's forehead, and closed his eyes, opening them again a few seconds later. He frowned, and studied Suki carefully, before closing his eyes again, and focusing.

All was still for a minute, Connors eyes twitching under his eyelids was the only movement in the room, until all of a sudden, the room jerked, and the class was drawn into the dream space.

_There were a few startled shouts as the students adjusted to their surroundings, they were in a dark tunnel, but now Suki was awake, and stood with her back to them. _

"_Suki!" CJ cried, but Suki didn't seem to hear her, she pulled out her PDA, and tapped it once, making the screen light up like a flashlight, and took a few tentative steps forwards, her footsteps sounding as she moved._

_Then came the growl, it was deep, feral and haunting, it sounded like something that lived in the most dark and dank places in existence. Suki turned to face them, and her eyes went wide in terror, everybody quickly turned to see what she was staring at._

_It was a monster, big and black and dangerous, with a face like melted tar, almost as if it was not meant to have shape. Its dark eyes locked onto Suki's tiny form, and she trembled, unable to move._

_Nobody moved or said anything, but it quickly became clear that this thing was going to kill her if she didn't move._

"_Run Suki! Run!" Ian yelled, but Suki didn't move, still too scared to move. Then Ray shouted._

"_Run! Dammit Suki, MOVE!" As if a gun had gone off, Suki jerked backwards, turned and ran, the monster followed, and let out an earsplitting roar as it gave chase._

_Nobody needed to move, it was if they were immaterial__(6)__, they watched her run faster and faster, with the monster right behind her, jumping over the twisted roots that covered the floor as the path started to lead upwards. _

_A root, growing from the ceiling snagged on her ponytail, and she yelped as it tore the band out of place, and her hair fell down around her face, flapping wildly as she sped up._

_The tunnels twisted and turned, but she kept running, until a light appeared ahead, a way out!_

_She reached the end of the tunnel only to find a barred door blocking her path; she shoved it open and ran out into the light…_

There was a cry, as the room snapped back into vision.

Nothing had changed, except Suki was now in fact, wide awake… and on the floor?

"Suki, are you okay?" Ian asked, reaching down, and put a hand on her shoulder.

She trembled a moment, and then burst into tears, latching onto the nearest body to her, which of course turned out to be a rather panicked looking Ray, who had knelt down to see if she was okay.

Ray froze in surprise, but quickly pulled her closer to him, as she sobbed furiously into his sweater… which was definitely going to need to go in the wash now.

"Take her to Nurse please Mr. Snyder, perhaps she can give her something to calm her." Coach History sighed in a bored tone. The class blinked at him in shock; did he just miss the entire episode that had just happen? Ray opened his mouth as if to say something, but then thought better of it, and closed it. Shifting Suki carefully, he stood up, cradling her gently in his arms, and walked towards the door, calling back over his shoulder to his roommate, Don.

"Look after my bag for me!"

* * *

First chapter down! More to go! Please R&R [Read and Review]

**Things to know:**

Kaa-San Japanese for mother [Suki is Japanese, so she would obviously use this term]

Oni, not to be confused with Onii-san. Oni are Japanese demons, usually depicted similarly to the Aboriginal Quinkan, or the modern day Boogie man. Onii-san, while spelt similar means 'Big brother' in Japanese.

The flashlight application that Suki designed in the episode "Monitored"

Connor Owen was Gabe and Ian's mysterious roommate for the episode "Dreams" I decided that his ability, would be useful for this story, so I'm making him a regular student a Tower Prep.

Connor's ability has something to do with influencing dreams.

Because the class was only visiting Suki's dream, and not actually a part of it, they were not entirely able to move around in it, and because it was Suki's dream, she was the anchor that kept them there, so they were pulled with her as she travelled.


	2. 02: The Waking

**Phoenix Rising**

**By KayaMorgan**

**Chapter 2: The Waking**

"Will she be alright?" a voice said above her, it was… familiar, in an annoying way.

"She'll be fine Ray, just a small panic attack. Probably stressed over midterms, go back to class." Another voice said.

Ray… that must have been him then… it would certainly explain the annoyingness she supposed.

"A panic attack? Are you sure? It certainly didn't look like one." Suki smiled in her sleep at the concern in his voice… Wait a minute… sleep? There was a clang as Suki sat bolt upright, and knocked the silver tray off of her bed, sending it flying.

"Ow!" She put a hand to her head… man that hurt a lot. 'Note to self', she thought, 'Never do that again!'

"Suki!" she opened her eyes to see Ray leaning down over her.

"How do you feel?" His eyes were filled with concern… Aww, he was cute when he was worried. No, bad Suki! Bad thoughts! She mentally gave herself a slap on the wrist.

"Ugh. Did anybody get the license plate of the bus that hit me?" Nothing like some humor to lighten the mood, after all, Gabe did it all the time.

Ray quietly sighed in relief, as Nurse bustled over to her bed, and put a hand on her shoulder.

"You'll be fine, just a minor panic attack as I was telling Mr. Snyder here. Now up you get, time to go back to class. Second period just ended, so off you go to third. Do I need to call anybody to keep an eye on you?" Nurse fussed. Suki stared at her for a moment, and stood up.

"No, it's okay… did anybody get my bag?" It seemed like a silly question, and she regretted it as soon as she said it.

"Here" Suki accepted the messenger bag, and put the strap over her head and on her right shoulder as she made her way towards the door, Ray following behind her.

The two of them walked beside each other in silence, Suki didn't know what to do.

Was she supposed to thank him? After all, she had to have gotten to Nurse somehow, and Ray _had_ carried her there before, she thought, remembering the failure of a fieldtrip.

'Third period is about to begin. All students proceed to class.' The familiar tones of Whisper filled the stone hallways.

As the hallways began to fill with students, Ray slipped ahead of her in the crowd, and Suki stepped in behind him silently.

They made it back to class before the final bell rang, and Suki returned to her seat next to CJ, just as Psychology entered the room, and began to set up on the teachers desk.

"You okay?" She looked up to see CJ watching her intently, no doubt fretting like a mother hen on the inside, so she faked a smile.

"I'm fine. It was just a panic attack." She repeated the diagnostic that Nurse had given her, knowing that it was a lie.

"Don't lie to me Suki. You don't _have_ panic attacks. You and I both know -" CJ cut off suddenly, and Suki looked up to see Psychology staring at them intently.

"Is there something that you would like to share with the class? Miss Ward? Miss Sato?" CJ shook her head, and put on the custom-made, sugary sweet smile that she used just for the adults at Tower Prep.

"N-no sir, I… was just making sure that Suki was feeling better, she wasn't feeling so good earlier." Suki rolled her eyes when Psychology looked away, apparently accepting the feeble excuse, and pulled out the small notepad she kept tucked inside her bag, and began to doodle in the margins as Psychology began his lecture of the day.

Time passed slowly, but soon enough, Suki heard Whisper's tone ringing for fourth period.

She shoved her laptop into her bag hurriedly, and said goodbye to the gang, quickly blending with the crowd, so that before they knew it, Suki was gone.

She followed the crowd down the hallway, took a right, a left, another left, and hopped up a flight of stairs before taking a right, and slipping inside a door, falsely labeled 'Janitor's Closet'.

Once inside, she pushed aside the wall colored curtain, and slipped up the thin staircase to the loft where she did her training.

Unlike the other's Suki didn't train with a coach or a Tower Prep teacher. Suki's teacher was exclusive to her, a mentor of sorts.

"Serena?" Suki called, setting her bag down on the short bench, and reaching for the stretchy black clothes, that she usually wore during her lessons.

Said items fitted her like a skintight jumpsuit, but were made of a spandex-like material and were flexible enough for her to be able to twist and move easily.

"Serena?" Suki called again, having quickly changed, ready for the lesson that was due to follow. There was no answer, except for the creaking of the rafters.

Suki moved carefully, stepping lightly, her teacher had been known for some rather mischievous booby-traps, Suki had ended up hanging upside down by her ankle on more than one occasion until she had learned this particular lesson.

There was a flash of movement, and Suki spun to block a blow aimed for her shoulder, shoving away the intruder angrily.

This was her place, nobody should even be allowed up here! Her eyes flashed with anger.

She wanted them gone.

Now!

* * *

Second chapter done and dusted, sorry about that mess up in the system, I was just giving the 1st Chapter a slight edit. Again.

Got bored the other day, after posting Chapter 1, and went on FB…

So of course curiosity rang and I looked up Richard Harmon, [Dude who plays Ray] Whaddyah know, he has a FB page [No! Really?] I posted on his wall, not expecting to hear anything back, but I got a reply.

This made Sora a happy camper! Freaked me out at first; then when it sank in, it made me feel happy.

I gots a reply! Ha! Take that you pesky sophomores, in my 8th period.

My sister's reaction: _"OMFG! You talked to an actor?" _That made me laugh so hard. You should have seen her face, and now I have her hooked on TP.

Yay! Now I'm not the only one, I promised her that once it came out on DVD, we'd watch it together… and I feel sorry for the CN people, if they decide to cancel it.

We were both SO pissed when Unnatural History got cancelled. I tell you, we will be among the rabid fans destroying CN's HQ, until they reconsider.

I SO wanted to point him in the direction of FF's Tower Prep page… but:

I felt shy, didn't want to come across like a stalker, and

It might freak out some of the people who write the stories, and they might delete them, or worse stop posting. Gah! We can't have that!

Bottom of Form


	3. 03: Training

**Phoenix Rising**

**By KayaMorgan**

**Chapter 3: Training**

_This was her place, nobody should even be allowed up here! _

_Her eyes flashed with anger. _

_She wanted them gone._

_Now!_

There was a quick flurry of blows, before Suki finally twisted in her attackers grip, and gave a swift kick to the stomach, pushing the unknown person away. She turned and settled into her basic training stance, ready to fight. Five minutes later, Suki landed on the floor with a hard thump. Her attacker offered her a hand, which Suki accepted, and pulled her to her feet.

"You are getting better, Little One, but you are still far too sloppy, and too kind. You are pulling your punches, and restraining yourself. If you keep this up, you will never truly be able to defend yourself against the Oni." Her attacker said in a soft voice as she pulled of the hood, revealing a woman of about 34, with silvery-blonde hair, and mossy green eyes.

"I know, I know… I'm trying, honestly. I just don't want to hurt anybody." Suki answered quietly, making Serena laugh.

"Oh Suki, I understand that you do not want to hurt anybody, but if you keep this up, you won't need to worry about that. _You_ will be the one getting hurt. You have to remember that you are not fighting humans. Oni are a dangerous breed, and they will not stop until they have achieved their goal, the whole point of this training is to teach you _how _to _hurt _them." Serena smiled softly, before gesturing to the open space.

"Come on; let's get to work on your stance"

* * *

_Serena had been Suki's mentor since she had first arrived at Tower Prep at age 11. She was like a mother, sister and a best friend to Suki. Even though she was only 29, she had the wisdom of centuries on her side, having full access to all of her memories from her past lives. She was not a part of Tower Prep faculty; she was a private teacher, for Suki only. _

_Headmaster had been surprised when she had first arrived in his office, materializing in a swirl of silver colored smoke, and demanding to see Suki Sato, one of the newest students. At first he had been dead set against it, but after a personal sparring session with her, a polygraph test, and a full psych profile, he allowed it, and Suki was summoned to his office to meet her trainer for the first time._

_The eleven year old girl had been shaking in fear, but Serena had knelt down in front of her, and looked into her eyes with a smile, and pulled her into a warm hug. After that, Suki had been severely attached to her, and had at first refused to leave her side, until Serena had calmly explained the purpose of Tower Prep to her, and that she needed to follow the Program._

_Suki had learned a lot with Serena's guidance, starting with the most basic forms of martial arts: Judo, Karate, Jujitsu, and so on, slowly progressing up into the more intricate styles as she graduated from each set._

_Serena taught her about people, and about life. She taught Suki what it meant to be yourself and to care for other people. When somebody was mean to her, Serena offered words of wisdom; when Suki missed her family, Serena held her as she cried it out._

_When Suki finally asked why she treated her like a daughter, Serena replied that she had a son about a year older than her, and that Suki reminded her of him. Serena had looked so sad when she talked about him that Suki could never bring herself to ask about him again._

_

* * *

_

Suki shook her head, and focused on the task at hand. There were five more minutes left on the clock, and Serena had her cornered. She slammed her fist forwards into Serena's gut, and twirled, leaping up to, and pushing off of the wall, propelling herself into a summersault and landing behind Serena, who was already moving again.

Four minutes left.

Serena struck out at her shoulder and pushed her backwards… Suki lost her balance, but bent backwards into a tight flip to compensate.

Three minutes left.

Suki panted, her breath coming hard and fast. Serena moved again, and Suki dodged… it was a waiting game, like cat and mouse. Again Serena came at her, and Suki leapt backwards, growling in frustration.

Two minutes left.

Her eyes flickered back and forth around the room as she sought a way to avoid losing against her teacher. There were ropes hanging from the ceiling secured to twin iron circles… a gymnastic prop. Suki dodged Serena's blow, and skipped upwards, kicking off of the wall and grabbing hold of the hoops. She swung her body upwards and let go. She allowed herself to fall into a graceful series of twists and flips until she landed safely on the mat in the center of the room.

One minute left.

She could make it. She ran across the room, desperate to reach the base before the timer –

**"!"**

The Buzzer rang before she reached it. Suki stopped and sighed, turning to face Serena.

"Seriously?" Suki wanted to stomp her foot in frustration. Serena smiled and walked over to her and put a hand on Suki's shoulder.

"You did well today Suki." Suki shrugged the hand off.

"Yeah, but not good enough. This is going nowhere. I'm never going to be good enough!" She blew out a breath in frustration which caused her bangs to fluff up.

"Yes you will be. But for now don't worry about it, you're improving, and that's all that matters." Serena smiled at her, and ruffled her hair.

"Now come on, you need to get changed for class." Suki nodded, and mechanically moved towards the changing room, taking a shower, and getting dressed again before heading down to rejoin her friends in the lunch room.

* * *

"So… I heard Jeremy is back from West Campus." Gabe was watching CJ for a reaction, but all she did was scoop up another fork of salad.

"Ceej? Did you hear me? _I said_ Jeremy is _back_. The guy who _almost_ ruined your dance." Gabe stressed the words trying to get a reaction out of CJ. She just looked at him.

"Yeah, I heard you. So what?" Suki's eyes bugged out at that comment, as she sat down next to Ian.

"So what? Aren't you worried that he's going to try something?" Ceej gave Suki a weird look.

"Why? Should I be?" At this, the whole table looked at CJ. Gabe dropped his fork, Ian choked on his food, and Suki gave CJ the look. You know, the look we all give to our best friends when they either say something weird, or do something entirely too crazy. The one we all give, right before we freak out.

"What?" CJ didn't understand the reactions she was getting, and Suki shook her head, before letting out a sigh.

"Never mind Ceej, I'll explain it to you later." Ceej looked back and for the between them.

"Tell me!" Suki shook her head, and stood up from the table.

"Later CJ, later." CJ opened her mouth to protest, but Suki picked up her things, dumped her trash, and headed off down the hall to make a quick trip back to the dorms before Whisper's tone rang again.

* * *

CJ was frustrated; Suki didn't seem to tell her anything anymore. Not since the dreams had started again. She had been best friends with her since she had arrived, when they were both 11. Five-and-a-half years later, and they knew everything about each other. CJ had never needed to read her.

But now… Even if she did try, Suki was an enigma. She was impossible to read.

She never talked about her training, never said who her teacher was. Never said where she disappeared to for training and CJ knew that she wasn't in the gym, the auditorium, their room, or anywhere else that her teacher might take her.

She never saw any signs that her teacher was part of the faculty, and there was no listing of a trainer in her files. CJ knew this, after 'borrowing' the keys to her dad's desk draws which held the pass-keys for his computer access.

What was she doing?

* * *

The second-to-last bell of the day rang, and Suki joined the flow of student in the hallways, CJ at her side. They walked back to their room in silence, as they always done on days when they had a free period. Ian and Gabe had Gym. CJ had been quiet ever since Suki had rejoined the gang in class after lunch, and she had no idea as to what was bugging the girl. Finally Suki couldn't bear the silence any more.

"Ceej, are you mad at me?" CJ ignored her, and put the bag she was carrying down on her bed. Suki dumped her own before flopping down on the end of the bed.

"Ceej?" Suki pleaded. Finally CJ turned to face the shorter girl.

"I just wish you would talk to me more. Why didn't you tell me the dreams were getting worse? You never talk about how your training is going. You never tell me what you're thinking. I can't even read you anymore. I wouldn't even know if you had a crush on some boy. I feel so useless. What is the point of being your best friend, if I can't help you, which I can't do if I don't know what is going on inside your head." CJ's eyes filled with tears and she sat down on the bed with a flump.

"Ceej. I'm sorry, I've just been really busy and Serena now has me working with Coach after school." CJ's head snapped up, and immediately Suki knew she had said too much.

"Working with Coach? Why? You have a _vocal_ talent Suki. Why would you need to work with Coach?"

Suki sighed, knowing that she couldn't lie to her friend. She frowned, thinking carefully about what she could say.

"CJ… Those nightmares I have, aren't nightmares. Think of them, as more like a memory-"

"Memories! MEMORIES? Those are your memories. What the hell! What kind of training are they giving you?" CJ leapt up from the bed and started pacing the room in frustration.

"CJ." Suki tried to calm the older girl, but she kept on ranting.

"CJ! Ceej! It's okay. Look, there's a lot going on, and it's Serena's job to teach me to protect myself." CJ turned to give her a baleful glare, which made Suki feel even worse.

"Look, I have to go soon, I have practice with Coach in less than half an hour, and it'll take me at least ten minutes to get there. Do you want to come with me?" CJ sat down on her bed again angrily, and frowned, thinking it over.

"No. You go, I-I need to get started on some homework." Suki wanted to do something, but finally she sighed in defeat. She got up grabbed her duffle bag, which had her clothes in it, her wrist wrappings, a small snack, her sneakers, and two water bottles stuffed in the pocket at either end.

"Okay. I'll see you later then." She said, pausing beside the door.

"Yeah, see you." CJ replied lifelessly. Suki turned and walked out of the room, shutting the door quietly behind her, before heading off down to the Dojo section of the Gym.

Reaching the locker rooms, Suki slipped inside and quickly changed, noticing that she had about 5 minutes left to get down to the Dojo. She laced her sneakers, and folded her uniform, before placing it carefully in her bag, so it wouldn't get messed up. Then she zipped the bag up again, and sprinted down to the Dojo.

Inside the Dojo, a game of Rush Ball was in session, running late because of a slow start. Balls were bouncing off the walls, and Don aimed at Ian, only for him to duck. The ball smacked into the wall with a resounding buzzing noise, and ricocheted off in the direction of the double doors that led into the room. This would have been fine, if of course the door hadn't opened at that exact moment.

Suki ducked as she entered the gym, the glowing sphere narrowly missing her head and Coach blew his whistle which caused the players to stop. Catching sight of the ball that had been aimed at her head, Suki glowered at the players. Not good.

* * *

Thank you guys so much for your reviews, when I'm blocked it really cheers me up.

**Zammierox: **The training is… necessary. The Oni are demons, who can and will kill her, so Suki needs to know how to defend herself. Yes, the whole Ian says something, but Suki only hears Ray was on purpose. It wasn't intended until I was proof reading it, that I changed my mind and wrote that in.

After all, Ian is one of her closest friends, and he has Preflex, so he would have known what would happen, but I needed Ray to give her the extra jolt to get her moving.

As for updating, I'm not always able to type. Life is busy. I'm in the middle of writing a book, and trying to get signed with an agent, I'm trying to be an all B, if not A student, keep my room clean, study for SAT's, learn to drive, have a slight social life, and get ample sleep. Plus I play an instrument – The Harp – and of course, I need to eat. Lol. Oh, I'm a proof reader for an online writer, I'm applying for a world building job, and I have a gaming sites club to run. Busy Kaya!

But I WILL do my best to keep this going, and I refuse to leave it unfinished, if everybody reviews it'll make the world of difference to me.

**Next Chapter: Rush Ball!**

_Suki ducked as she entered the gym, the glowing sphere narrowly missing her head and Coach blew his whistle which caused the players to stop. Catching sight of the ball that had been aimed at her head, Suki glowered at the players. Not good. Suki caught sight of Ian, Ray, Don, Zack, and Gabe among them; Gabe and Zack were already sitting on the bench, which signaled that they had all been caught out in the game. She dropped the duffle bag that had been slung over her shoulder and bent to pick up the ball._

"_Y'know most people say that being late to practice is bad, and being early is what you should aim for. But in this case, I'm going with: Being early is dangerous, and late is safe. Anybody care to disagree?"_

"_Sorry, Suki. The boys are being a little slow today. Game's almost over. Do you want to join?" The boys turned to look at Coach, as if he had grown another head. Let a _girl_ join the game? A GIRL? Suki thought about for a moment before, using her foot to slide her bag across the floor, and next to the bench._

"_Sure." She nodded, and Coach chucked her a pair of protective glasses, which she put on, before rotating her shoulders to loosen them up. She tossed the ball back and forth between her hands._

"_Sounds like fun." She said with a sly smile. A chill ran down Don's back as she looked at him. He really regretted throwing that ball now._

Hehe. Poor Don, don't cha almost feel sorry for the boy. Almost.

**Sneaky secret:** Serena is Ray's mom, but he has no clue that she is at Tower Prep or teaching Suki. Serena doesn't know that Ray is at Tower Prep as he went missing two years before she first met Suki.

[I may or may not release one, count it, ONE Sneaky Secret every two-three chapters.]

**Sneak Peek from later in the story:**

"_I. Am not. Afraid of you!" Suki exclaimed angrily, spinning and driving the blade deep into the Demon's shoulder and into the wall behind it._

"_You and your damn angel blades, Phoenix. Do not think that this is the last time that we will meet. I will be back, and you will be destroyed." It growled, as it began to sink into the pool of tar-like liquid, which quickly evaporated. _

_Suki rolled her eyes, and yanked the knife from the wall. She slid it into the sheath hanging from her belt, unhooked it, and walked over to Ray, shoving it into his hands._

"_Keep this on you at all times. They know who you are now, and that means that you're in just as much danger, if not more than me." She turned away from him, and walked towards the door._


	4. 04: Rush Ball

**Phoenix Rising**

**By Kaya Morgan**

**Chapter 4: Rush Ball**

Suki ducked as she entered the gym, the glowing sphere narrowly missing her head and Coach blew his whistle which caused the players to stop. Catching sight of the ball that had been aimed at her head, Suki glowered at the players. Not good.

Suki caught sight of Ian, Ray, Don, Zack, and Gabe among them; Gabe and Zack were already sitting on the bench, which signaled that they had all been caught out in the game. She dropped the duffle bag that had been slung over her shoulder and bent to pick up the ball.

"Y'know it's rude to throw things at people. Most people would say that being late to practice is bad, and being early is what you should aim for. But in this case, I'm going to go with: Being early is dangerous, and late is safe. Anybody care to disagree?"

The boys all shook their heads, muted by the fact that a girl was in the Dojo. More than one mouth had unattractively flopped open at the sight of her in her loose white cotton sweatpants, and tight black shirt.

"Sorry, Suki. The boys are being a little slow today. Game's almost over. Do you want to join?" The boys turned to look at Coach, as if he had grown another head. Let a girl join the game? A GIRL? Suki thought about for a moment before, using her foot to slide her bag across the floor, and next to the bench.

"Sure." She nodded, and Coach chucked her a pair of protective glasses, which she put on, before rotating her shoulders to loosen them up. She tossed the ball back and forth between her hands.

"Sounds like fun." She said with a sly smile. "Besides, it'll be a good warm up." A chill ran down Don's back as she looked at him. He really regretted throwing that ball now.

"Uh… Coach?" Don said, "are you sure that this is such a good idea?" Coach gave him an odd look.

"Course it is. Why, you scared of a little girl Finch?" Don shook his head. "No." He said defiantly. Coach chuckled darkly and smiled.

"Really? You should be; especially with Suki." At this, the boys all laughed, even Ian and Gabe. What harm could a tiny girl like Suki do? Coach shook his head and blew the whistle, restarting the game.

Suki took a step to the side, avoiding a ball thrown by a boy whose name she didn't know. She threw her ball, aiming it at Ian. Why not choose a familiar target, she thought. It missed, Ian had seen it coming, and managed to dodge in time.

Thwack, a ball hit the wall next to her, bounced off, and knocked a boy off his feet.

"Out!" She barely heard Coach in the midst of the free-for-all that she was currently entangled in. It seemed that the boys had decided to gang up on her, before singling each other out.

'Fine,' she thought. 'I can deal with that. It's just a bunch of boys, and after Serena's training, how hard can it be?'

She dodged a ball, and threw hers in return, ducking as a ball aimed at somebody else went her way. Out of the corner of her eye she saw two balls flying towards her. She leapt into the air, caught them, and then used their momentum to carry her through a twist, releasing them at their owners.

There was a satisfying smack that resounded as the balls collided with their owners which made Suki smile as she gently touched down on the balls of her feet.

"Blevins, Green! Out!" Coach's whistle blew again.

Now there were only four of them left in the game.

Each of them paused, looking at each other in turn in an attempt to size each other up and figure out each other's weak points. The whistle blew again, and each one of them blurred into action.

Suki pushed off from the floor, ball in hand, and quickly scaled the posts located around the room to gain her bearings. There. She spied Don hiding behind a pillar about 15 meters to her left. She carefully aimed it at the wall, and it rebounded off to strike between his shoulders. Score!

"Finch, youre out!" Coach's whistle went off again. Now there was just her, Ray and Ian left in play. Both boys were looking for her, throwing a ball or two at each other as they went, but neither could figure out where she had gone.

She giggled. She couldn't help it, honest. Both boys spun on the spot to locate the noise, and caught sight of her. Crap. Suki swore softly, which gained a warning from Coach.

"Language!" Suki turned her head to look at him.

"Is your skill Super hearing Coach?" Coach didn't answer, and Suki turned back just in time to duck a ball thrown by Ray. It flew over her head, hit the wall and smacked into Ian's shoulder.

"Sorry Ian!" She called, as his eyes went wide in surprise, and the boys sitting on the bench began chattering in surprise. Ian had only ever been hit once before in Rush Ball, and that was _with_ his ability malfunctioning.

Now it was down to Ray and Suki. Coach blew the whistle, and Ray threw the ball. Suki flipped off of the column, and landed on the floor, swiftly moving behind the barrier, and crouching to pick up the nearest glowing ball

The next few minutes were a while until Coach finally blew the whistle.

"Alright that's enough! Boys, hit the showers, Suki, you take a break. There's no point in practice if you're falling asleep on me." Both Ray and Suki were breathing hard and Suki was pleased with herself. She may not have won, but she had forced Ray to a draw. The boys filled out of the room, and Suki sat down on the edge of the mat with her water bottle to stretch. Ian and Gabe headed over to her.

"How did you do that!" Gabe almost seemed to wet himself from excitement. She blinked.

"Uh… gymnastics?" They didn't buy it. Ian frowned.

"Suki, you practically flattened every guy here. Gymnastics, is no legit reason to be able to do that. Aside from me, and Jeremy, nobody else has ever been able to hold Ray at a standstill. Where did you learn to do that?" Gabe looked back and forth between the two of them, as Suki held Ian's gaze, finally she sighed.

"Mimicry isn't all I can do Ian. Why do you think I came down here in the first place. I've been training with Coach in Martial Arts ever since I came to Tower Prep."

"Suki, nobody can get that good in a few years. That kind of level of control has to be built over a long time." She looked at the floor, avoiding his gaze.

"Just how long do you think I've been at Tower Prep Ian?" Ian looked away.

"I don't know. A few months? Years?" Gabe nodded, agreeing with Ian.

"Yeah, seriously Suki, it can't have been _that_ long." She shook her head.

"I've been here since I was eleven. That's five years. Five years of constant training, two to three hours a day on a school day, and more on the weekends; hours of meditation and practice; months of constant drilling and lectures. I didn't do this by sitting around and painting my nails." Ian stared.

"Five years? That's not possible." She looked up at them.

"Not for me it isn't." She unlaced and retied her shoes, before standing up to face them head on.

"You guys should go. I need to get to practice."

"Suki wait." Ian began, but the conversation was over. Suki turned, and settled herself into a Kata, one of the base stances of her fighting style, before smoothly running through the motions, eyes closed. Ian sighed, and walked towards the door.

"Come on Gabe, we might as well go shower." Gabe started to protest, but Ian pulled him out of the room.

"You need to tell them Suki." Suki opened her eyes and turned to see Coach standing at the edge of the mat.

"I can't." Coach watched her carefully for a few minutes, before moving to stand beside her.

"That's your choice. I can't change that. Now, show me your stance, I want to know everything that Serena covered with you today."She obeyed, sliding into the stance again, and began to tell him what Serena had said about using your upper body strength to block frontal attacks.

* * *

Almost two hours later, and back in the dorms, Ian and Gabe were searching for CJ.

Ten minutes into their search and they found her in one of the main lounges, with about 25 other students listening to Don and Zack retell how Suki had fared against their Gym class. Ian cursed, he had hoped he could find CJ first.

As they reached the doorway, CJ turned to leave, her face shadowed by hurt.

"Ceej. What's wrong?" Gabe's voice was strained. She sniffled.

"Ceej?" Ian put a hand on her shoulder.

"Is it so wrong that I don't even know my best friend anymore? I can't even get a read on her anymore." She choked out.

Ian pulled her in for a hug.

"It's okay Ceej. Suki's just... I don't know Ceej, something's up. I'm worried too. I really think those dreams have something to do with it. She's never usually this secretive." CJ sniffled, and pulled free of the hug, wiping the tears from her face.

"Those aren't dreams Ian. Those are her memories." Gabe let of a gasp of surprise and Ian frowned.

"I don't understand, how can she-" He trailed off, and then sighed.

"Look, it won't do us any good to stand around worrying all night. Lets' go turn in early, and then we can figure it out in the morning. Okay?" CJ nodded, and Gabe patted her shoulder.

"I'll go on and head back to our room. See you in the morning Ceej." Gabe turned and walked off down the hallway. CJ nodded and waved.

"Bye Gabe." She turned back to Ian.

"Are you sure it will be okay?" He smiled at her tentatively.

"I'm positive" By now they were at her dorm room.

"Goddnight Ian." She unlocked the door, and opened it.

"Night Ceej." He leant down and hugged her, before walking away with a smile.

CJ walked inside her room, and shut the door, leaning back against it and smiling before moving over to her bed, and getting ready to go to sleep.

"I just wish Suki would tell me what is going on" She muttered to herself before she turned out the light.

* * *

Well butter me up, and call me biscuit. Who knew? Two reviews and I manage to churn out a whole other chapter. My English grade is going to suffer. Nah, it'll be fine, I'm just 'Writing my English essay' Pshh! It's a Research Paper people. It's weird because lately I've been listening to 'Three Days Grace', 'Linkin Park', 'Simple Plan', 'The Script' and 'Three Doors Down' more and more often. I'm addicted. I just noticed that my characters tend to frown a lot. Maybe it's because they're always trying to think their way out of this mess of a plot line I place them in. I'm such a terrible person. Poor little characters.

Anyhoo. I'll do my best to update again soon, sometime in the next week or so. But Please, Please, PLEASE remember that Im super busy.

**My Playlist for this chapter: **

'The Man Who Cant Be Moved' by The Script

'Nothing' by The Script

'Hands Held High' by Linkin Park

'Somewhere I Belong' by Simple Plan

'If You Ever Come Back' by The Script

'Girl with Golden' Eyes by Sixx AM

'New Divide' by Linkin Park

'Before The Worst' by The Script


	5. Don't Kill Me!

Hey guys – It's been so long.

Okay so I know I haven't updated in what? Nearly a year? I cringe at this… honestly I lost my motivation when the series was canceled and I had a lot going on – I still do.

I'm currently working on a new Fic for Warehouse 13 called "Fold Your Hands" – I'd like to be able to say that it's awesome and that you should check it out, but I'm not good at evaluating my own work, and I'm a perfectionist. I'm focusing really hard on this new one for a while, and if I can make it past the first 6-9 chapters, I'll start up on this one again.

If I do restart this one, I'll rewrite the entire thing, and I'll rewrite the first 4 chapters, and do the 5th and 6th before I post, to make up for it. So I'd suggest following my account if you want updates, as I'll most likely delete this one. It all depends.

Please do me a favor and check out my new fic if you're a Warehouse 13 fan, any reviews or faves would mean the world to me.

So sorry, (and cringing in fear)

Leaena.


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